Healthcare Leadership Program

In October of 2023, we launched a new Healthcare Leadership Program (HLP) to help support YSM and YNHHS leaders in guiding their teams as our organizations work together toward our shared aspiration: to become a leading academic health system. Currently, 19 leaders are participating in the eight-month program, which ends in June.

“The Healthcare Leadership Program is grounded in developing leaders and exploring opportunities to communicate with their teams more effectively. This in turn, helps build stronger teams and a stronger culture throughout the healthcare system to better serve our patients and community,” stated Robert Rohrbaugh, MD, YSM deputy director for professionalism and leadership.

The goals of the program are to:

• Gain essential management and clinical leadership skills and apply them to your leadership role within the healthcare systems.
• Learn to communicate most effectively, help strengthen organizational culture, and model the core values of YSM and YNHHS.
• Build and strengthen professional connections and networks to help advance their personal goals and aspirations.

“Developing connections within the Yale New Haven Health system has been invaluable. It’s been reassuring to know you have colleagues facing similar challenges and this program creates a network you can reach out to and help talk through situations and find solutions together,” said Stephen Thung, MD, chair of obstetrics, gynecology, and reproductive sciences at Bridgeport Hospital, and professor and vice-chair of obstetrics, gynecology, and reproductive services at YSM.

“Having joined Yale two years ago, the HLP program, was incredibly beneficial and engaging. It helped me learn more about the organizational structure, strategic planning, and the resources available to support me and my peers in our leadership roles,” stated Sanja Dacic, vice-chair and director of anatomic pathology, and medical director of the Tumor Profiling Laboratory. “It was inspiring to hear the perspective of the health system leaders and experts from across the university and know the organization is invested in ensuring we succeed as leaders.”

The curriculum includes:

• Q&A sessions with national experts in leadership development, such as Joe Folkman, PhD, author and executive consultant on leadership, feedback, and individual and organization change
• Conversations with YNHHS and YSM alignment leadership, including Nancy Brown, MD, dean of YSM and Christopher O’Connor, MHSA, FAHE, CEO of YNHHS
• Leadership style self-assessments, including DiSC, a tool to help understand communications in the workplace based on four main personality styles: dominance (D), influence (i), steadiness (S), and conscientiousness (C)
• Individual coaching sessions to address specific challenges participants may face in their respective roles

“Having joined Yale two years ago, the HLP program, was incredibly beneficial and engaging. It helped me learn more about the organizational structure, strategic planning, and the resources available to support me and my peers in our leadership roles,” stated Sanja Dacic, vice-chair and director of anatomic pathology, and medical director of the Tumor Profiling Laboratory. “It was inspiring to hear the perspective of the health system leaders and experts from across the university and know the organization is invested in ensuring we succeed as leaders.”

The next Healthcare Leadership Program takes place from September 2024 through June 2025.
For more information, contact Kezia Dos Santos, MSHRM, OAPD project and program administrator, at kezia.dossantos@yale.edu.